City of Powell River Council has given first three readings to a municipal solid waste collection bylaw that would raise the rates for solid waste and recycling incrementally.
At the December 1 city council meeting, councillors were presented with the bylaw’s rate increases, which will ensure full cost recovery for solid waste collection service, according to a staff report. qathet Regional District has passed a bylaw raising its rates per tonne of solid waste from $240 per tonne in 2022 to $260 per tonne in 2026, the report stated.
Chief financial officer Mallory Denniston said in 2023, the solid waste collection fee would be going up from $120 for garbage and recycling to $125, followed by increases of $3.50 thereafter until 2027. She said the jump in 2023 has largely to do with the increase in tipping fees mandated by the regional district.
“When we collect garbage and dispose of it, we are charged a tipping fee by the regional district,” said Denniston. “As well, it factors in other inflationary costs, such as labour and diesel, which are going up. The proposed cost increases ensure this service funds itself.
“Garbage and recycling we check every year to make sure the revenue and expenses are funding themselves. That’s one of the objectives of the service. These are the projected increases required to make sure that it maintains.”
Denniston said in this bylaw, the proposal was to have separate fees for garbage and recycling. She said the existing bylaw has one rate for garbage and recycling. There are some strata units in the city that garbage trucks can’t service so residents would only be charged the recycling fees under the new bylaw.
In 2023, the breakdown of collect fees is $110 for garbage and $15 for recycling. Denniston said that is because the recycling program is subsidized through RecycleBC.
“Our contract with them stipulates we cannot make a profit on recycling, so we are very close with our analysis to ensure if we are charging anything above and beyond the subsidy we get, that we are breaking even,” said Denniston. “Recycling is so much lower because of the subsidy. It’s an excellent program and we’re fortunate to be a part of it.”
Denniston said the Powell River solid waste collection rates have been compared to nine other communities and the city ranked the third lowest. She said bumping it up to $125 still keeps the city at the third lowest of the comparative cities. The average of the surveyed cities is $170 per year.
Councillor Earl Almeida asked about households that request a second garbage bin, wondering if there is a higher fee for the extra cost of tipping. Denniston said the household would pay for the second bin and then an extra $60 that is levied on the property tax annually.
Almeida then brought up garbage tags, which can still be used on garbage bags over and above what is being disposed of in the garbage bins. He said he recalled that 90 tickets had been sold for the year, and while it is a nominal extra amount of time for sanitation workers, he also wondered if the risk of lifting the bags nullifies the benefit of the machine service the city has.
“For the minimal number of bag tags we are collecting, I wonder if we get rid of the bag tags,” said Almeida. “For those who feel like they are using more garbage, then they can get a second bin, or the city encourages people to produce less waste.”
Council voted in favour of the first three readings of the solid waste collection bylaw.
Almeida then made a motion that council direct staff to review the supplemental services section of the bylaw and come back with a report on alternative options regarding garbage tags. The motion carried.
